Bottle carrier



H. ZL'GRAY Oct. 6, 1942.

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Nov. 21, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR V HARRY Z. GRAY ATTORNEIYS Oct. 6,1942. (GRAY 2,298, 09

- BOTTLE CARRIER Filed Nov/21, 19:59 ZJSheets-Shelt Z li l ny' HARRY Z. GRAY v ATTORNEYS INVENTOR Patented Oct. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE BOTTLE CARRIER Harry Z. Gray, Lebanon, Ohio Application November 21, 1939, Serial No. 305,491

(emu-45) 2 Claim. This invention relates to bottle carriers, and

more especially it relates to bottle carriers of the type whereof the bottles are held in suspension by means that engages only" the necks of the bottles.

The chief objects of the invention are to provide an improved bottle carrier of the character mentioned that may be manufactured of paper, cardboard, or other inexpensive material; that may be constructed in flat com act condition for packing and shipping, yet readily may be folded to service condition when required; that is formed with hand-grip openings and an element cooperating therewith and adapted to be engaged by the fingers of a person carrying the carrier and to distribute the weight of the carrier over said fingers; and to provide the last mentioned element with means for assisting in maintaining the carrier in folded, service condition. Other objects include the provision of simplicity of construction and relatively low cost of manufacture.

, Of the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of three blanks of which the improved bottle carrier is composed; Figure 2' is a plan view of the bottle carrier after the three blanks have been assembled;

Figure 3 is a section, on a larger scale, on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the bottle carrier after being folded to service condition; Figure 5 is a central transverse section through the folded carrier, and a bottle supported by the carrier; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the carrier, a part being broken away for clearness of illustration.

Referring to the drawings, particularly Fig. 1

each being of such diameter as readily to enable the capped end of a bottle to be passed therethrough.

Outside the creases II the blank A consists of lateral portions I4, I5 that become the opposite sides of the carrier when it is folded to service shape, and the free corners of said lateral portions are scored or rouletted at l6, l6 to define three sided portions II, I8 on each portion M, it, said portions I'I, I8 eventually becoming the ends of the carrier in its service shape. The portions I8 of the sides I4, I5 are disposed at diagonally opposite corners of the blank A, and each is formed with a projecting tongue or ear I9, there being a crease 20 where the ear connects with the blank. The-rouletting I6 between each of the portions I1 and the lateral portions I4, I5 includes a slit or incision 2I, which incisions receive the tongues I9 for locking the carrier in a ,iiap 23 has terminal extensions or ears 26, 26,

which ears are obliquely transversely creased at 21, 21 to facilitate subsequent flexure thereof.

The blank B roughly is trapezoidal in shape,

and is of greater length than width. It is creased longitudinally at 29, which crease divides it into thereof, there are shown three blanks A, B and C, respectively, of which the improved carrier is constructed, said blanks preferably being made of heavy cardboard material. In profile the general shape of blank A is a symmetrical octagon, the sides however being of different lengths, and the blank being of greater length than width. Whenthe blank subsequently is folded to service shape, .th'eimedial longitudinal region ll) of the blank becomes the bottom of the carrier, said region being defined by parallel, spaced-apart creases II, II that extend longitudinally of the blank. The medial region I0 of the blank is formed with a plurality of apertures I 2, I2, here'- in shown as'three in number, said apertures being arranged in spaced apart relation along the longitudinal centerline of the medial region I0,

being semicircular and having substantially. the

same radius as the radius of the neck of a bottle which the carrier is designed to receive. As is clearly shown in the drawing, there is a slight shoulder or offset at the juncture of the arcuate margin of the recess and the straight lateral margins thereof.

. The blank C is identical with blank and the same numerals, with the exponent a are used to designate the parts thereof that are designat- 4 ed in the blank B.

In the assembling of the carrier using the blanks A, B andC described, the blank C is superimposed upon the blank A so that the crease 29a of blank C is coincident with crease ll of blank A, the notch 32a is disposed adjacent slit 2|, and the hand openings 35a and 22 are coincident. Portion 3|a of blank C is adhered to portion l4 of blank A, by means of any strong adhesive, portion 30a being unadhered to blank A and partly overlying medial portion of the latter, the recesses 33a of blank C being coincident with the apertures l2 of blank A,

transversely of said blank. In like manner blank B is superimposed upon blank A, creases 29 and retraction of the flap, except when it is intentionally done to open the carrier. The presence ll being coincident, notch 32 being disposed adjacent slit 2|, hand opening 35 being coincident with the .general profile of flap 23, and portion 30 of blank B overlying a part of portion-30a of blank C and portion In of blank A therebeneath. Portion 3| only of blank B is adhered to blank A, portion 30 being free. When so positioned, each semi-circular recess 34 of blank B confronts a semi-circular recess 34a of blank C, over an aperture I2 of blank A, said recesses together defining an opening that is of the same extent as the diameter of aperture l2 transversely of the carrier, but of somewhat smaller dimension than said aperture along the longitudinal centerline of the carrier. Since the portions 30, 30a of blanks B and C are not adhered to another structure, they are free to flex relatively of each other and of the blank A along their respective creases 29, 29a, and thus constitute flaps. The carrier assembled as described and as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 is in the condition in which it is stored and shipped. Being flat, it occupies but small space, and may be stored in quantity without requiring extensive storage facilities.

In Fig. 4 the carrier is shown in service condition, ready to receive three bottles that are to be carried. The transition of the carrier from the fiat condition shown in Figs. 2 and 3 to the service condition shown in Fig. 4 is effected in the following manner; first, the carrier-is folded along the longitudinal creases H, 29 and II, 29a, the free margins of the lateral portions of the structure being brought into juxtaposition so as to define a three-sided figure in transverse section, as shown in Fig. 5, with the-blanks B and C of the folded structure disposed interiorly of the same. Then triangular portions I1, iii are folded toward each other along the rouletting IE to provide ends for the carrier, the 'pertions l8 overlying the respective portions I1.

.Ears l9 are then flexed along creases and inserted in the respective slits 2!, thus retaining the structure in its folded condition, the presence of the notches 32, 32a beside said slits enabling the ears I 9 readily to pass through said slits and to lie along the inner faces of lateral portions [5 of blank A without encountering the margins of blanks B and C. Finally, the flap 23 is fiexed along crease 24 and pressed inwardly through the opening 35 of blank B, and then is pressed through openings 35a, 22 on the opposite side of the carrier, the terminal tabs 25 of the flap flexing along their creases 21 to facilitate this operation. Thereafter the flap may be flexed upwardly along its crease 25, and this feature together with the fact that the terminal tabs 26 of the flap extend beyond the margins of the flap 23 not only supplements the locking ears IS in holding the carrier in folded, service condition, but it provides a broad, smooth handengaging surface that makes the carrying of the carrier, with bottles therein, less arduous.

When the carrier is folded as described, with the blanks B and C on the inside,.the folds at creases 29, 29a of the latter blanks traverse a. smaller radius than the folds at creases ll of the blank A, with the result that the flap-like portions 30, 30a of the blanks B and C are moved toward'each other and their overlap increased. This causes the openings defined by the arcuate recesses 34, 34a of said flaps to be reduced in width transversely of the carrier to such an extent as to be slightly less than the diameter of the neck of a bottle to be received by the carrier. This condition is best shown in Fig. 6,

wherein also is shown the relative size of each opening defined by the flaps 30, 30a and the apertures 12 in the bottomof the carrier.

The mounting of bottles in the carrier is easily and quickly effected, simply by placing three bottles in a row, and then pushing the carrier down upon the bottles. When the bottles are in a row, each bottle is in axial alignment with an aperture l2 in the bottom of'the carrier, and since the apertures 12 are larger than the cap and the bead at the top of each bottle, the latter readily pass through said aperture. However, the apertures defined by the recesses 34, 34a of the flaps 30, 30a are smaller than the end of a bottle, so that the bottle tops flex said flaps upwardly about their hinges at 29, 29a, until the openings defined by recesses 34, 34a in said flaps are sufficiemly enlarged to enable the caps and upper ends of the bottles to pass therethrough. Thereof the hand openings 22, 35a, effectively prevent 7 after the carrier 'may be lifted, the weight of the bottles on the flaps 30, 30a forcing the latter downwardly against the bottom of the carrier,

and even slightly deforming the material at the margins of the recesses 34, 34a of said flaps.

This condition of the carrier is shown in Fig. 5

of the drawings wherein one of the bottles is shown at 36, the bead of the bottle and the cap thereon being designated 31 and 38, respectively. The arrangement is such that the bottles are securely locked in the carrier, and can be removed therefrom only by opening the carrier and unfolding it substantially to its original flat condition.

The invention provides a bottle carrier that is relatively simple in construction and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. The three blanks used in the construction of the carrier may be made by single die operations, and the assembling of the blanks may be performed mechanically. The carrier holds the bottles securely, it is easily carried without discomfort to the bearer, and it achieves the other advantages set out in the foregoing statement of objects.

Modification may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, or the scope thereof as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bottle carrier adapted to be folded along parallel lines to provide a substantially flat bottom and side members extending upwardly therefrom, said carrier comprising a blank of foldable material formed with an aperture in its medial region, a second blank of similar material and smaller size overlaid upon one lateral region of the first mentioned blank and a major overlapping marginal portions of the second and third blanks being formed with confronting recesses thattogether define an opening, which opening is coincident with the aperture in the medial region of the first blank and of smaller size than the latter.

2. A bottle carrier adapted to be folded along parallel lines to provide a substantially flat bottom and side members extending upwardly therefrom, said carrier comprising a blank of cardboard or similar material formed with an aperture in its medial region, which aperture is larger than the bead end of a bottle to be passed therethrough, a second blank of similar material and smaller size overlaid upon one lateral region of the first mentioned blank and a major portion of the medial region thereof, and a. third blank of similar shape and material overlaid upon the other lateral region of the first blank and over a major portion of the medial region thereof and overlapping a substantial marginal portion of the second blank, the overlapped free marginal portions of the second and third blanks being formed with confronting recesses that to gether define an opening that is coincident with the aperture in the medial region of the first blank and of smaller size than said aperture, said second and third blanks being disposed interiorly of the folded carrier and their overlap- I ping portions constituting flaps that rest upon the bottom of the carrier and are supported thereby.

' HARRY Z. GRAY. 

